Nearly eighty years ago, Pasquale Valli secured a position at an umbrella factory in Veduggio, Italy, managing the department that oversaw the design and production of handles. While umbrellas of the time looked exactly the same somber, dark and gloomy the treatment reserved for the handle itself was wildly different. In Valli's design department, fancy took flight. The handle articulated the true personality of the umbrella and it was this piece that captured a buyer's attention. The importance of touch and the contact between a consumer and an innovatively designed object was an experience that Pasquale Valli valued immeasurably.

Valli learned many things from his time in the handle department. He absorbed an understanding of the properties and handling of metal, including fusion techniques, the use of molds and dyes and the techniques employed for various other materials, such as plastics. Fascinated with the ergonomic relationship between hand and object, he was compelled to study at a sculptor's studio, inciting a passion for art and commitment to artisanal craft methods. These experiences changed his life, inspiring him to become an entrepreneur.